In terminating insulated wire, it is often necessary that the insulation at the end of a wire be stripped away to expose the conductor to insure a good connection. The problems and limitations associated with insulation stripping are well known. It is a time-consuming task, requiring special tools. Further, after stripping, the wire must be inspected to insure complete exposure. Moreover, stripping may result in damage to the conductor, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the electrical connection.
In addition to the familiar problems associated with wire stripping, newly-developed insulation products such as, for example, those sold under the tradenames KYNAR and KAPTON and the like present new problems in insulation stripping. KAPTON, for example, is difficult to strip, as a thin layer of insulation is deposited about the conductor, which cannot be sufficiently removed by conventional stripping techniques. This thin outer coating will prevent complete electrical connection. Also, since the properties of these new insulation materials permit thinner insulation wall thicknesses, "funnel entry" type animals, known in the art, would be difficult to employ. These type connectors allow the stripped end to enter or funnel into a crimping zone in the connector while keeping out the insulated portion. It would be difficult to construct a "funnel entry" type terminal to such precise dimensions so as to keep out the thin-walled insulation material.
The art has also seen attempts at providing insulation piercing terminals. Many of these terminals in addition to requiring crimping for electrical connection require further steps for providing strain relief to prevent the wire from being pulled out of the terminal. In addition, locating the wire in the terminal to insure proper piercing of the insulation often becomes a problem, as many of the prior devices fail to provide suitable guides to align the conductor over the contact. Such crimping may often cause the contact to miss the conductors and thereby render the electrical connection ineffective.